1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to patient monitoring. Although embodiments make specific reference to acute patient monitoring in a hospital ward, the systems, methods and devices described herein may be applicable to many applications in which physiological monitoring is used, for example wireless physiological monitoring for extended periods.
Patients can be treated for diseases and/or conditions associated with a compromised status of the patient, for example a compromised physiologic status. In at least some instances patients can be placed in a ward to ensure proper care, such as ward of a convalescent hospital, a nursing home or a hospital. In some instances, a patient in a ward, for example a hospitalized patient, may be monitored to determine the underlying cause of illness. Hospital patients requiring intensive care may be admitted to an intensive care unit (hereinafter “ICU”), and hospitalized patients requiring intensive care can be admitted to a general ward of the hospital. However, health care costs continue to rise and in at least some instances people are uninsured, such that people may be unable to receive proper medical treatment in at least some instances. ICU care can be very expensive and ICU space limited, such that ICU care can significantly increase the cost of hospitalization, and in at least some instances a person may become very sick before being admitting to an ICU.
It would be helpful if improved patient monitoring were available that could at least decrease, or even minimize the need for ICU care and hospital care. An ICU can include complex instrumentation and highly trained staff, both of which may be needed to monitor and treat the patient. In at least some instances it may not be appropriate to release a patient from an ICU to a general ward of a hospital due to limitations of the instrumentation available in the general ward of a hospital. Also, there may be some patients in the general ward of a hospital who can benefit from improved monitoring, for example to detect the onset of a life threatening condition, such that the patient can be treated for the life threatening condition before ICU care is needed.
Work in relation to embodiments of the present invention suggests that known methods and apparatus for monitoring patients in hospital and long term care settings may be less than ideal. In at least some instances, the currently known methods and apparatus to monitor several patients in a hospital ward may be more difficult and time consuming for hospital staff than would be ideal. At least some of the known ICU monitoring systems may not be well suited for use in a general hospital ward. For example at least some of the known patient measurement devices may not be configured to measure and transmit data optimally from an ambulatory patient, such as may occur with a patient in a general ward who can wander about the ward. In at least some instances exercise such as walking may be helpful to the patient and increase the rate recovery. Although at least some of the known instrumentation and data systems for use in the ICU may work well with a stationary patient who remains in bed, these instrumentation and data systems may have less then ideal performance when the patient is ambulatory and moves about the hospital, for example with healthy walks for exercise.
Although wireless communication devices may transmit measured patient data, in at least some instances problems can arise with mobile patients that may not occur with stationary patients such as ICU patients. For example when several mobile patients are monitored communication through a gateway device may become slow and congested, such that communication is somewhat slower than ideal. In at least some instances, important information may not pass through the gateway to a monitoring site in a timely manner. Also, at least some of the known methods and devices that use mesh communication protocols such as ZigBee can result in communication that is slower than ideal in at least some instances.
Therefore, a need exists for improved patient monitoring in patient wards such as wards in a hospital setting. Ideally, such improved patient monitoring would minimize, or even avoid, at least some of the short-comings of the present methods and devices.
2. Background Art
The following U.S. patents and Publications may describe relevant background art: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,121,573; 4,955,381; 4,981,139; 5,080,099; 5,319,363; 5,353,793; 5,511,553; 5,544,661; 5,558,638; 5,718,234; 5,724,025; 5,772,586; 5,862,802; 5,944,659; 6,047,203; 6,117,077; 6,129,744; 6,213,942; 6,616,606; 6,225,901; 6,385,473; 6,416,471; 6,454,707; 6,527,711; 6,527,729; 6,544,174; 6,551,252; 6,595,927; 6,595,929; 6,605,038; 6,616,606; 6,645,153; 6,659,947; 6,821,249; 6,980,851; 6,988,989; 7,020,508; 7,054,679; 7,088,242; 7,130,396; 7,153,262; 7,156,807; 7,336,187; 7,382,247; 2003/0092975; 2004/0100376; 2004/0225199; 2005/0113703; 2005/0131288; 2005/0206518; 2006/0010090; 2006/0031102; 2006/0074462; 2006/0089679; 2006/0122474; 2006/0142820; 2006/0155183; 2006/0202816; 2006/0224051; 2006/0235281; 2006/0264730; 2006/0293571; 2007/0015973; 2007/0038038; 2007/0021678; 2007/0180140; 2007/0180047; 2007/0255120; 2008/0004499; 2008/0058614